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WILKES-BARRE PA – Stay Focused, who won his last start on the last day of 2025, came back sharply to the races on Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, recording a solid 1:53.4 engine victory in the $15,500 feature for up-and-coming pacing males. Over a track at less than peak speed all afternoon, […]
WILKES-BARE PA – Matt Kakaley, three-time defending dashwinning driving champion at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, recorded the 7000th visit to the winners circle as a harness racing driver when he guided Franzo (Rockin Image) to Victory Lane in the second race at the northeast Pennsylvania oval on Monday afternoon. Horses whom Kakaley, 37, has […]
Hightstown, NJ — Matt Kakaley heads into Monday’s (April 14) third round of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series with three horses on the outside of the top eight in the standings, but each has an inside post position that the harness racing driver hopes can be used to pick up big points. Desperate Man (Shadow Play), […]
After closing out his third consecutive driving title at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs last week, Matt Kakaley can still add to his list of accomplishments before his 2024 harness racing campaign comes to an end next month. Kakaley has already set a career high for purse earnings this year, with $9.55 million, but has his […]
WILKES-BARRE PA – Three $15,000 features for developing youngsters topped the Tuesday afternoon action at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Matt Kakaley, Pocono’s leading driver, accounted for the two highlight divisions for males, both winning by 4½ lengths, and he almost won the third, having to settle for six harness racing winners at Pocono before […]
Yonkers Raceway played host to three $39,000 pacing feature events Monday evening (Aug. 19). One was for the top older harness racing horses in the Invitational and two were 3-5-year-old Open events. Twp of the three features were won by driver Matt Kakaley and trainer Travis Alexander as they ended the night with four winners […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – Endofstory (Lazarus N) brushed to the lead past the quarter – and boom, endofstory. He won the $17,000 harness racing pacing feature at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania Tuesday (Aug. 13) in a lifetime best of 1:49.4. The victorious sophomore gelding came after early leader I Was Tricked near the :27 quarter, […]
Yonkers Raceway held twin $39,000 Open Paces for 3-5-year-olds Monday (Aug. 5) and both harness racing events were won wire-to-wire. The 2nd race first division saw Verdun (Bettor’s Delight) and driver-trainer Pat Lachance take the early lead away from Venturesome Arden N (Jordan Stratton) by the opening quarter in :28 and never had to look […]
WILKES-BARRE PA – Matt Kakaley reclaimed the lead in the Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania drivers derby with a six-win performance on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 3), including a sweep of the three $17,000 featured harness racing trots, whose times went down as the track conditioned was rerated to a lesser condition. Two of Kakaley’s featured […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – Noses, closers, and upsets were the order of the day at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Sunday evening (July 28), especially in the two feature races. In the top event, a $15,000 trot, the Southwind Frank gelding Songs In The Wind, who had been better than fifth at the quarter only […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Donato Hanover gelding Donato Patriot K thundered home in :27.3 to complete a 1:55 harness racing victory in the $11,000 fast-class trot Monday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Sun Pennsylvania. Matt Kakaley reserved the winner of $211,908 in third much of the mile, then unleashed him uncovered at the three-quarters, […]
Race favorites Howlenthehills (American Ideal) and Janelle Granny (Fear The Dragon) emerged victorious from the pair of $25,000 MGM Grand Messenger Stakes eliminations for sophomore harness racing colt and gelding pacers on Friday night (June 21) at MGM Yonkers Raceway. Captain Skippy (Dexter Dunn) blasted to the front from the outside post seven in the […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Tactical Landing filly Marg In Charge had to work up first-over in the $15,000 trotting harness racing feature at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon (June 17), but she was then able to hold off the late move of second-over G Load by a neck in 1:54.3. The victorious […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – Both Hot Flash Kimmy (Lookslikeachpndale) and Hand Dover Dan (Dover Dan) toured the Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania harness racing oval in 1:54.1 on Saturday afternoon (June 15) to win their respective $17,000 divisions of the featured trot. Hot Flash Kimmy was the first to visit the winners circle after charging to […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – Under perfect conditions Saturday afternoon June 1) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, the 2024 standard for harness racing pacing speed was first lowered and then that time was equaled, but it was a trotter who emerged as the fastest on his gait outright – the Cassis gelding On Higher Ground, who […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – Harness racing driver Andrew McCarthy and trainer Brett Pelling each captured two of the three $30,000 divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars event for three-year-old pacing fillies, as Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania welcomed back both Pennsylvania-sired stakes racing and Sunday evening cards. McCarthy and Pelling hooked up behind the fastest of the […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Cantab Hall colt Blackhawk Zette completed a clean sweep of the Bobby Weiss Trotting Series for three-year-old trotting males on Monday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, capturing the $50,000 Championship while equaling his lifetime best harness racing mile of 1:54.2. Four Sixes left strongly from post seven, just outside Blackhawk […]
With his last two quarters in the race traveled in :27.3, Downrightdelicious (Downbytheseaside) and harness racing driver Matt Kakaley were able to collar pacesetter Adam Twelve in winning the $32,000 Open Pace Wednesday (April 24) at Yonkers Raceway. The 5th race Open Pace feature for 3-6-year-olds started off with Adam Twelve (Yannick Gingras) leaving from […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – The only harness racing mare in the field, Passionate Promise (Creatine), showed “the boys” how to get the job done when she won the $35,000 Game Of Claims Trotting Series Championship for $25,000 base-tag horses on Tuesday afternoon (April 23) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Even-money favorite Fight Song, coming off […]
A 6-year-old gelding, Desperate Man (Shadow Play-Dreamlands Latte) has opened his 2024 harness racing Grand Circuit campaign by going 2-for-2 in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series for older male pacers at MGM Yonkers Raceway. Those two wins around The Hilltop’s half-mile oval give him 11 victories in 16 career starts on half-mile tracks. He’s missed […]
Brue Hanover (Stay Hungry), a 16-1 longshot, was given a perfect two-hole trip by harness racing driver Matt Kakaley and just got up at the wire to win the $32,000 3–5-Year-Old Open Pace Wednesday (March 27) at Yonkers Raceway. The 2nd race feature saw Kakaley leave with Brue Hanover at the start of the race […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – Developing harness racing horses were featured in a quartet of $15,000 headlining contests on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon (March 26) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. In the pace for males, A Major Attitude (Captaintreacherous) sprung a major upset, with the gelding brushing to the lead into the far turn for driver […]
WILKES-BARRE, PA – The second preliminary round of the Game Of Claims series for the highest-priced selling harness racing horses at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania highlighted the Saturday afternoon (March 9) sloppy-track action at the northeast Pennsylvania oval. Matt Kakaley took two $17,500 divisions with winners from last week, and Anthony Napolitano guided the […]
A number of good things — with an emphasis on numbers — happened for harness racing driver Matt Kakaley in 2023. Kakaley won a career-high 561 races last year, surpassed 6,000 lifetime victories, and captured his second consecutive driving title at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs. He also topped $9 million in purses for a second […]
